The Guardian
by One Song.One Shot
Summary: A one shot inspired by, and using the lyrics of the song "The Guardian", by Delta Goodrem. Reviews and suggestions appreciated!


**Hello there one and all!**

**This story took me a little bit longer to write, and it turned out completely different to what I originally thought. I guess that's just what happens when you do something like this.**

**This story is dedicated to all of you who story alterted, reviewed, or even read parts of _The Only One_. YOu have no idea how sorry I am to not finish that off, but check my profile as to why it's been taken down.**

**As always, reviews and comments are always appreciated, and suggestions for songs with match ups are welcome also.**

**Cheers!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, not did I write the song "The Guardian". Those belong to Nintendo and Delta Goodrem respectfully.**

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><p>I see it. Finally, in the distance. My home. Well…it hasn't been my home for so long now that I'm not sure I can still call it that. I'm amazed that after all of the time I have been away from this place, and after everything I have been through to protect the land it stands on, it still looks the same as when I left it.<p>

Unharmed. Peaceful.

I sigh in relief and push my wings harder. I feel them protest in response, pushing upon me that they haven't really rested in over a year, and that maybe I should give them a break for a little while.

I ignore their request and tell them to fly. Fast.

For it is then I realise that spread around the Great Deku Tree are the so - called 'friends' of mine that I left behind. I can tell by the formidable group of light that has formed that they are all itching to talk to me, ask me about my travels, and then work on getting close to the only fairy that has left the forest.

Of course, there were a couple of Guardian's I used to speak to from time to time, before I left for my adventure, but on the whole I was left alone. I heard how everyone mocked me: how I was to the only Guardian Fairy without a charge. That is why I called this group my so-called friends: they had only come to talk to me before when they wanted to openly make fun of me or wanted something from me. I was disgusted with the thought that the only reason why all of the sprites would want to talk to me now was so that they could show off to their own friends how cool they were now that they were friends with the Hero of Time's Guardian Fairy.

Well….a fairy who USED to be the Hero of Time's Guardian Fairy anyway.

Pushing my hurt and my anger from that thought through my entire body, I zoom straight at the bubble of light near the tree. As I get closer, I hear shrieks of excitement, before they turn into bells of alarm. Without slowing down, I push through the crowd of sprites, not caring who I hit or knock down as I go. Without looking back at the chaos I create, I fly to one of the highest points of the Deku Tree, zoom into one of the holes in it's trunk, and I slam the door shut behind me.

It is only now that I let my anger and hurt give way to the racking sobs I have been keeping at bay through my journey from the Temple of Time. I feel my wings droop as I slowly make my way through my old chamber and slump on my green leaf bed.

It is said that each Guardian Fairy has a special connection with their human, or Charge as some call it. With their Guardian powers comes the connection of feeling what their charge feels, both emotionally and physically. It is through this that Fairies have the ability to heal, and act as a counsellor when their Charge needs it.

However, my Charge was no ordinary boy.

I can still feel his presence in my heart. I can feel his soaring happiness, his absolute delight, and I can feel the ground under his feet as he skips or perhaps runs through the Market.

To leave him behind, it took all the strength that I had, and now that I can feel his happiness at my leaving, it causes me to sob even more.

I feel betrayed. I had thought on the way here that maybe I had been wrong, that I might've been sorry for leaving him by the Master Sword, without a word of why or goodbye. That he might have been depressed or confused by the notion of my leaving.

His current emotions I feel right now say otherwise.

And that's what hurts the most. He and I were bonded on another level entirely compared to all of the other Guardian's and their charges. I had always hoped that someday we could….

I stop my thoughts before they can go any further. What kind of fool would hope for change in that aspect? I guess it's never occurred to the Deku Tree that this would happen if he paired a female sprite with a male human. All of the other fairies got paired with someone the same gender. That was another reason, I realise, for my newfound higher status amongst the other Guardian's.

I roll myself over and face the wooden roof of my hidey-hole. I try to forget the past. Or future. Well, past because I have already experienced it, but future because that's where it happened…it hurts my brain just thinking about it. But I nonetheless try to forget the scenes I witnessed, and the emotions I felt during that last week of my adventure. I berate myself for not realising it sooner, and for focussing on my own selfish feelings instead of that of my charge, which is what I was supposed to do.

I stare at the roof for hours, praying to the Forest Sage that she will allow me to start over. To start writing a new word on a page. That is stained and ruined….by a lie…that he shouldn't have told me…

My body convulses with sobs once again and I use my arms to cover my eyes. I hear something wail with agony, only to come to realisation that the sound is coming from me. In the darkness that my arms envelope me in, I can picture him clearly, on that very day. The day he raised my hope before he stomped on it and burnt it.

_We were sitting by Lake Hylia. I floated above him, following his gaze across the wide expanse of water and the setting sun above it. At that moment, it had reminded me of home: of how a peaceful and quiet landscape could provide you with such a sense of content that you were happy to be left with your thoughts. Of course, during that early time, my thoughts were always his, and at this moment, one particular thought was all he was thinking about._

"_I'm sure Princess Ruto didn't mean it," I said calmly. "I mean, you're way too young to be thinking about anything to do with that, especially marriage."_

_I heard the boy below me sigh. "It's not just that," he said painfully, and for the first time since we were bonded, I feel the full extent of what he means._

_Until then I had always thought that there was something wrong with the way my charge and I had bonded: that the underlying hurt that I could feel was just an error in our connection, for it had always been there. It was only then that I realised that this underlying hurt was what my charge's heart beat to. That is, with every beat of his heart, the hurt within him swelled and died. It was so profoundly strong now that I wondered why the mention of love and marriage would cause it to spike. I found it very frustrating that while I could read him physically and emotionally, I could not – nor could any other Guardian Fairy with their charge – fully read his mind and find what he was thinking._

_Nonetheless, the beating of his heart was strong and loud, and the hurt that oozed from every beat was enough to cause tears to form in my eyes. "I'm the Guardian," I thought, "I am the sole protector, of a heart that's been abused."_

"_Do you feel it?" He asked me, breaking me out of my silent focus. "I bet you do." He looked away from the water in front of him to the hands in his lap, and said quietly, "I won't let love do me in again"._

_I flew in front of him, so I was now level with his nose. I stared into his piercing blue eyes and frowned. "Do you in? Again?"_

_He blinked at my question and then raised his eyebrows. "You remember how I came to be in Kokiri Forest in the first place, don't you? During the war? My parents, they just… left me there…" he closed his eyes and dropped his head before continuing. "I know I shouldn't feel the way I do. I should be thanking all three Goddesses that my mother was well enough to save me and bring me to the Forest in the first place. But I can't feel it. All I feel is angry and hurt by it. All I had known in that Forest was what it was like to be bullied and sad. Saria, I grant you, was a shining light in that Forest, but without her, it would just be dreary and depressing."_

_I stared shocked at my charge, who sounded like a fully grown man beyond his years instead of a mere boy of 10._

"_I fear that with every passing day my heart just grows less and less likely to be open to idea of love. How can I love someone when I have never been loved myself? I wouldn't know how or where to start. I can't just run to the light of a fire and jump in. Loving a person isn't as easy for me as slaying monsters is. If I die slaying monsters, no one would miss me. But if I open myself to love someone and then lose them… I don't know if I could handle that again. Not after my parents."_

"_This is something you've thought a lot about, isn't it." I'd said it as a statement of fact, because I could feel through the bond that it was._

_My charge didn't answer my question. Instead, he lifted his head and asked, 'Risk a poison kiss, just to have my thirst unquenched again and let love do me in?" He shook his head before saying, "that is not something I wouldn't be thankful for."_

_I still floated just level with his nose, thinking about what he had said. Then I saw a smile etch across his tired face. "Besides, the way I see it, as my Guardian Fairy, you're the only one I could ever consider opening my heart for."_

_My heart leapt at his statement. "Really Link? You trust me that much?"_

_He cocked his head to one side before grinning broadly. "What did you think I was doing for the past half an hour?"_

_All I could do was smile back and giggle in response, before I flew underneath his hat to nestle in his soft, golden hair._

_You're the only one I could consider opening my heart for_. The statement kept going around in my head as if it was on a loop. Every time it repeated itself, the more my heart shrivelled into a smaller size.

He had lied. And continued to do so. I first noticed a change after he… no… after WE defeated the Water Temple. My Charge seemed as odds with himself, as if having an internal struggle between what was right and wrong. I could feel it through our connection. I kept asking him what was wrong, but he kept denying anything was out of place. I kept reminding him of what he had said, that he could open up to me whenever he needed to, and he said he would, in time: he just had to figure it out for himself first.

Every battle we waged, my feelings and care for him grew stronger and stronger, and I could feel his devotion and love grow stronger too through our bond. Only, in my own selfishness, I interpreted that as feelings directed towards me.

How wrong I was.

I finally saw the truth after the Battle with Gannondorf in his tower. After my Charge, the Princess and I had fled through the tower and narrowly escaped being crushed by the falling debris, I could feel how physically weak he was. I could feel physically he was exhausted, but emotionally… as he stared up at the Princess, I could not only see but _feel_ the love beating in his heart.

And it was all for _her_.

Feeling the urge to throw something back in the present, I grab a small pottery cup off my bedside table and throw it with all my might at the wall opposite my bed. Then I keep going: grabbing anything and everything I can my hands on, I throw and let out screams of frustration in the process. I swallow the urge to call out his name, instead focussing on letting out all of my anger on my belongings.

When I can't find anything else to throw, I start kicking my furniture, relishing the pain that comes with hitting strong wooden things with your feet. The pain makes me feel better I realise: it's a release of all the suffering I've already been through, and maybe a preparation for what will come.

For the next few months, my days will revolve in a tight circle of emotions: sadness, depression, frustration, anger, and then, when the need crashes in, and I wind up kicking or punching the walls until my limbs bleed. I always brace myself for the wave of hurt that eventually comes, and I always pray at night that it will pass and not take me under; that things will get easier for the Forest Sage and the Deku Tree commands it so.

However, as days turn into months, and months turn into years, I have to resign myself to the fact that I am the Guardian. I am the last defence for my weakened heart that still wants him. Madly. Deeply. The connection and bond between us is just too strong.

It always will be.

Nine years later I can still feel him. Still feel his undeniable happiness. Still feel his feet hitting the ground quickly. Still feel the love that pours through our bond every time his heart beats.

It's amazing that I can feel any emotions at all. I've hardly gone outside, hardly eaten, or seen the sun shining. At first, the other sprites would come knocking, shouting through the window and the door to see if they could do anything to help. The reality is that the only person that can help me is busy loving someone else.

But then…I feel it.

Stress. Hurt. Anger. Frustration.

And Pain. A pain so strong and intense, that I outwardly groan as I feel it shock through me.

MyCcharge…something's happened….

Without a moments pause for thought, I rush out of my door for the first time in years, and fly as fast as I can. My wings are stiff from their lack of use, but they seem to revel in having the wind rushing through them once more. My eyes take some adjusting to the harsh sunrise light, but as they do Hyrule Castle comes into focus, and I fly, pushing myself to my limit.

I fly directly to the front gate, go through the bars and up to the front door. Of course, there are two guards waiting out the front of it, but instead of wasting my time trying to convince them of what and who I am and trying to get through the door, I notice a small window opening around the corner. I whiz over and fly through the gap, to be greeted by people rushing about everywhere.

I look frantically for my Charge, trying not to focus on the insufferable pain that I can feel. Where is he? I notice lots of maids ferrying towels and other things up and down the corridor, and amongst them, is an older woman, with grey hair, wearing a tight body suit of armour with a large red eye on the front.

With recognition and purpose, I fly towards the woman only to have her turn away from me and start running. I cry out to her, asking her to stop and listen, but she can't hear me over the top of the fuss the other maids are making in the corridor. I follow the figure, turning left and right, following winding staircases here and there, until she finally comes to stop inside a small, dark chamber and closes the door. I narrowly miss out becoming swatted like a fly and hide myself in the small, pottery jug that is stationed next to the door.

I sit myself down on the bottom of the jug, and wait.

"How is she?" I assume that the older woman is speaking to whoever else was in the room.

I hear a sniff before something that rocks me to my very soul.

"Not good." He sounds depressed. The pain in his heart spikes again.

"What exactly happened? Everything seemed to be fine."

"Yes," my charge says very distantly. "It was. The baby… something is wrong…I don't exactly understand it all…. but there was a lot of blood….too much blood, the healer said…they don't know if she'll be able to last with so much blood being lost…" My Charge trails off then, and I can hear and feel him succumb to tears. The worry now is superseding the anger, but the undeniable pain is still there, lurking within our connection.

"Surely, my Prince, there must be something we could do? As Sages? Is there not a spell? Perhaps Nabooru…"

"It's too late for that now Impa. Not unless you have a way of giving the Sage of Time the blood inside your very body then there is nothing to do but wait."

We all wait in silence for a time. I wait inside my pottery jug, turning over all of the new information I had learned in just that short exchange: my charge was now a Prince and he was going to be a father? Well….that would explain the surging amounts of happiness I kept feeling over the years…

But then my mind wonders back to the time near Lake Hylia, where my charge bared his soul, and explained why he didn't think it was possible for him to love another person. And now that he had, his greatest fear was coming true: the person that he loved dearly was dying, which meant that if nothing could be done, he would be left alone in the world. Again.

I feel like calling out to him to tell him that I am here, and that I always have been. But before I can another thought stops me: I can do something to help him. Just as I always did.

Without delay, I fly out of my jug, under the crack of the door, and zoom through the castle corridors. At first, I have no idea where to look, but then I notice the maids hustling and bustling every which way, but all seemingly coming to and fro from one particular room. I sneak under one of the maids ugly frilly white hats, bury myself in her hair, and stow away until she takes me inside the room.

The room she goes into is quiet, yet crowded: I can hear at least 5 pairs of feet from my position under the cap, and I can hear the quiet but frantic whisperings of the other people in the room. As sneakily as I can, I come out from my position and hide behind the stack of towels in the corner that my transport has just added to. I wait for seemingly ages, until at last there is nothing in the room but myself and one very ill Princess.

I rise from my position and slowly fly towards the large 4-poster bed, and look down. The Princess does not at all look well. I can see the cold towel over her forehead is not causing her any relief, and her face is scrunched as if in a constant pain.

Swallowing, I reach out and touch her nose, to see what exactly is wrong.

Yes…my Charge is right. The Princess is not well. I can sense that the baby he spoke of is already near death, and the Princess herself is not too far away either, because of the severe amount of blood she has lost. It reminds me of the countless times my charge nearly died of the same fate. However, he always had a pink fairy to heal his wounds…

Backing away slowly from the Princess, I fly towards the windowsill and look out of the window. Down in the gardens below I can see my Charge, sword in hand, taking to a straw dummy like it was Gannondorf himself. I can feel all the anger, frustration, and hurt sliding off him like sweat every time he takes a slash at the poor thing. But as he reaches the end of his workout, I see my charge collapse onto the ground and weep.

If he was not fully resigned to the Princess' fate when I first arrived, he definitely is now.

Sighing, and fighting my own tears of pain, I fly back over to the Princess. My eyes sweep over her frail, pale body; her blonde, straw locks messy around her head; and finally come to rest on the small bump of her stomach, which I know that in a few short hours, will be no more.

I am the Guardian. I am the sole protector of a heart that's been abused….

I would do anything for my Charge; the person who I have dedicated my life to; the person that that I love beyond anything else in this land. And I won't let my own selfishness and hurt get in the way of his happiness.

Taking a deep breath to go with my decision, I fly to the top of the Princess' head, and kiss her wet forehead. "Take care of him, Zelda. Please," I say, proud that my voice only breaks at the last word.

I then fly to the bottom of her feet, come to rest on top of big toe, and look up. With one more deep breath, I use my powers to raise the Princess out of bed so she is just above the covers. Then, before my powers can weaken anymore, I fly around the Princess' body, putting all the effort I can into healing her and making her better.

I hear a door open behind me, and someone call out, but it is too late: the healing is done, and I am no more than a spirit floating through the wind.

The Princess drops back down onto the bed and I see my former Charge race to the bed and hold her in his arms. As she groggily comes to, I can hear him mumble, "Thank you, thank you. Oh thank the goddesses, thank you…Navi."

I can see him crying, with relief this time, but as I float away to another life, I can't help but feel absolutely miserable. Crying tears that I can't feel or see at his gratitude, I drift away from the happy couple, thinking only of regret, for I let happen to me what my Charge's worst nightmare was: I let love do me in.


End file.
